86 VF500F Clutch has small friction zone

I did a search and found one similar thread with zero replies, so here goes...

My 86 VF500F basically has no friction zone, the clutch lever is nearly all the way out before it starts to engage. I end up with about 3/8" of lever movement for friction before full engagement.

I replaced the fluid today, levels were fine but the fluid was so old that it was grey. I bled the system per the Clymer manual, but I'm still not seeing an improvement. The master cylinder seems to be pushing fluid fine. Should I look at rebuilding the slave?

The bike shifts fine and the clutch does fully disengage/engage, so I'm thinking (hoping) that the clutch plates are ok.

Any advice you can offer is appreciated.

Kevin

 

eh, I bought a slave rebuild kit. at least it'll be new parts and it's pretty cheap to do. If you think it might be something different, please let me know. Thanks.

 

im wondering about that too even though under heavy acceleration my clutch slips a bit so i will have to change the plates, but i want to know if its normal for the lever to start engaging so far out also

 

two things you can do, one of which I think is a MUST BE DONE if you've never done so, or just got a bike, change the clutch AND brake fluid, in all systems. over time the stuff accumulates water, which promotes RUST in your brakes, clutch, etc. as a result, the systems become damaged over time, and require repair/rebuilds. its the single healthiest thing you can do. s DO IT.

next, check your clutch springs(if so equipped) if they're worn/out of spec, or some dumbass shortened them, as they did on my old Seca II, you will not get full engagement.

 

ok. I changed out the clutch fluid yesterday, like I said, it was UGLY. I'll do the brakes sometime in the next couple of days. I'm getting full engagement on my bike, it's just that 0% clutch to 100% clutch happens so quickly that the bike lurches a lot during a hard acceleration.

 

One other thing that is almost always overlooked... the brass bushing in the clutch lever... I'll bet yours is toast. They are not cheap for what they are, but they make a HUGE difference in how the clutch feels in the friction zone. Almost every VF I look at needs one.

 

I had the same issue after flshing my clutch fluid on my old VF500.

If you are sure you have bled the clutch system as well as you can, zip-tie the lever so it is all the way in and leave it like that over night.

The next day when you come out, grab the lever and snip off the tie....then slowly release the lever.
That fixed my problem.

 

Thanks, I'll give that a shot. Just went to get on the bike to get it inspected...dead battery. Had to get it jumped to get there and they had to jump it to inspect it. I'll be buying a new one tonight...battery that is. Gotta love old bikes :wink:

 

I think this is just a characteristic of the VF. Mine is the exactly the same. All the action is in the last few mm of travel. However the clutch works fine and doesn't slip. Changing the fluid isn't going to fix it unless you have air which is then removed (but this wouldn't give these symptoms anyway). It was something that bothered me initially cos my other bikes are more normal, but after a while riding the VF you just get used to it.

 

Thanks, that actually makes me feel better. I didn't really notice it because I have my quad set up the same way with a really short zone. I let a couple of other people ride the bike and they both commented on it. I have yet to stall the bike out because of the clutch so I guess I'll just leave it for now. I do have the parts on order to rebuild the slave, so I'll probably just go ahead and do that.

 

Have you REALLY removed the clutch lever and removed and inspected the clutch bush? It's the round bushing that the post from the master cylinder pushes on. I can't stress enough how bad it makes the clutch action seem when it is worn. And it doesn't have to look that bad to to really affect it. If isn't round anymore and has a groove worn in it, replace it. You will be amazed. I'm not saying that this is definitely your problem, but it's something everybody that's reading this needs to check.

 

yup, it's worn. at least a 1mm groove on the back side of it. ordering now...

thanks,

Kevin

 

I finally got the clutch lever bushing. Much to my disappointment it seems to have made little, if any, difference. I'm not sure how to proceed next. I have the slave cylinder rebuild kit that I could throw at it I guess. Thoughts?

 

Its just how these older bikes are I can say out of personal experience that the stock clutch is a piece of shit and should be changed when you buy the bike. I wouldn't worry about it works why mess with something that works.

 

Did you try the Zip-tie method?

 

the zip tie method will be tried tonight. I'm trying the different suggestions independently so that I will know what actually fixes it. thanks.

 

What would you recommend changing it too????

Well, it's my bike and I don't really like how it feels. If I can make it better, I will.

 

Try adding a braided clutch line in with the mix it helped my bike a little bit but it always engaged a 1/2" from full release. I've heard many good things about the Kevlar barnett clutch I haven't yet tried it for my sled yet.

 

The problem is caused by a dirty master cylinder return port. It is a very tiny orifice that is supposed to bleed fluid pressure back into the mc reservoir. If clogged it causes the clutch to stay slightly engaged and results in shortened lever engagement, clutch slipping, etc. You can rod it out with a small wire temporarily to see improvement, but a complete disassembly and thorough cleaning will give better results.

 

My old VF500 with 65,000kms on the stock clutch doesn't disengage that far out on the lever.

Definitly a bleeding/clogged something issue.